2400 Head Of Hogs Lost Due To Barn Fire
(Kingsley) — More than 2,400 head of market-size weight hogs were lost due to a fire that completely destroyed a hog confinement facility located at the 47,000 block of 260th Street of rural Plymouth County. The fire was reported at about
10:30 a.m. Friday morning, and according to Kingsley Fire Chief Paul Huth, the hog barn was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived on the scene. He says the barn is totally gone. Huth says an electrical exhaust fan is what is being blamed for the fire’s origin.
Photos courtesy of KMEG-KPTH television
Huth says besides the Kingsley Fire Department, mutual aid was provided by Remsen, Oyens, Marcus, and the Cleghorn fire departments. The Kingsley Fire Chief says the fire had been burning for a couple of hours before firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control. Huth says an additional concern was a nearby propane tank located near the burning structure. Huth says there probably will not be any additional investigation to the fire, since he is certain it was started by electrical means.
Reynolds and Gregg Visit Hawarden, Iowa
(Hawarden) — Governor Kim Reynolds made her first appearance to northwest Iowa as the new governor of Iowa. She, along with her newly named Lt. Governor, Adam
Gregg of Hawarden were greeted by a crowd of hundreds of enthusiastic people ranging from small school children to senior citizens. Reynolds showed her appreciation for the attendance welcoming her and the hometown boy, now the new
Lt. Governor. Gregg was greeted by his wife and children, parents and grandfather. During a press briefing, Reynolds says she has established four major goals for her administration.
Reynolds says a STEM-based education of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will help Iowa students to be competitive, and it will assist with her final goal of having a skilled work force.
Newly appointed Lt. Governor Adam Gregg was trying to hold back his emotions when he was greeted by the hometown crowd. Gregg began by holding a frame of an autograph of former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and showing it to the hometown
crowd. Gregg says he first got interested in public office and polices as a second grader when he was able to acquire the autograph from then a young Governor Branstad when Branstad made a public appearance to Hawarden.
Gregg says he nearly missed seeing his political idol.
Gregg says there is no way that at the time, the second-grade boy or the governor would know the young boy would later become a close and trusted political adviser of Governor Branstad.
Lt. Governor Gregg proceeded to say there must be divine intervention with former governor Branstad becoming the ambassador of the People Republic of
China.
The new governor and her lieutenant shook hands and hugged many members of the crowd, and signed countless autographs by elementary students from the West Sioux School District.
Reynolds Announces Agency Appointments
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An attorney who served as counsel to Gov. Kim Reynolds when she was No. 2 to former Gov. Terry Branstad has been named the state’s next public defender.
Larry Johnson Jr. will replace Adam Gregg, who was appointed acting lieutenant governor by Reynolds on Thursday. Johnson will start the job next week.
Johnson served as deputy legal counsel in the governor’s office for several years before he served as legal counsel.
Reynolds also announced Friday that Mark Lowe, interim director of the Iowa Department of Transportation, will now be in the job permanently. Katie Averill will serve as superintendent of the Iowa Division of Credit Unions, a state agency that monitors the execution of laws relating to credit unions.
The positions are subject to Senate confirmation.
Des Moines Wants To Build Greenhouses
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A group has proposed building greenhouses along railroad tracks in Iowa’s capital city.
The Des Moines Register (https://dmreg.co/2qqVWu5 ) reports that New York architect Mario Gandelsonas and local venture capitalist Jim Cownie met with the Des Moines City Council this week to discuss their plan to build the Des Moines Agricultural Corridor through downtown.
Cownie says the project could take 20 years to build and would likely cost tens of millions of dollars.
But he says the farms could meet demand for locally grown food and provide produce for area farmers markets, grocery stores and restaurants. He says the project could offer research space for Iowa State University students and agriculture companies.
Councilwoman Christine Hensley says she’d support the plan if the greenhouses operate as a for-profit entity that pays property taxes.
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